The 18th annual Coastal Dance Festival presented by Dancers of Damelahamid honours Indigenous stories, song, and dance from across Canada and around the world. On stage from March 4th to 6th, at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC in Vancouver and from March 7th to 9th, at the Anvil Centre in New Westminster.
Audiences at both venues will be treated to a dynamic program including ancestral and contemporary performances from Northwest Coast and international Indigenous artists. Highlights at MOA include a youth-focused collaboration between Vancouver’s Raven Spirit Youth Dancers and Australia’s Wagana and a site-specific, multidisciplinary installation from New Zealand’s Charles Koronheo, in collaboration with Montreal poet and artist Natasha Kanapé Fontaine. At the Anvil Centre, Vancouver-based powwow dancer Nyla Bedard will make her festival debut.
“This year is a time of great celebration for the Coastal Dance Festival,” says Margaret Grenier, Festival Executive & Artistic Director. “After a six-year hiatus, we are thrilled to return to our original home venue at MOA, upon the completion of seismic upgrades to its historic Great Hall in 2024. At the same time, we treasure the relationships we’ve built with the communities surrounding our vibrant home at New Westminster’s Anvil Centre. For 2025, our wish was to honour both places, expanding our reach to a wider audience and allowing for an even richer exchange of knowledge and culture.”
The festival’s program at MOA will feature a series of all-ages matinees and signature evening performances, as well as the return of an artist sharing series. For the first time, the MOA program will include a site-specific live digital performance installation, Ko Te ?kau, from intersectional M?ori artist Charles Koroneho. On site at MOA’s Haida House, located outdoors at the rear of the museum each day of the festival.
The festival’s artist sharing series at MOA will run daily and feature conversations with Jo Clancy and Starr Muranko, facilitated by Margaret Grenier (March 4); Laura Grizzlypaws and Tasha Faye Evans, facilitated by Rebecca Baker-Grenier (March 5); and Charles Koroneho, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, and Raven Grenier, facilitated by Margaret Grenier (March 6). The March 6 sharing will also feature a live performance of Raven’s contemporary music/dance work, “Wolverine.”
At Anvil Centre, the festival’s program will feature a series of daytime performances and a signature evening performance.
The 18th annual Coastal Dance Festival runs March 4-6, 2025 at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC, 6393 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver and from March 7-9, 2025, at the Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia Street, New Westminster. For full festival details and to buy tickets, visit damelahamid.ca/coastal-dance-festival